Numerical simulation of combined thermal and mass transport in a square lid-driven cavity

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate steady mixed convection in a square lid-driven cavity under the combined buoyancy effects of thermal and mass diffusion. The transport equations were solved numerically using the Galerkin weighted residual method. The heat and mass transfer rates were examined using several operational dimensionless parameters, such as the Richardson number Ri, Lewis number Le and buoyancy ratio parameter N. The investigation was carried out for 4 × 10 −4 ⩽ Ri ⩽ 10 , 1 ⩽ Le ⩽ 50 and − 100 ⩽ N ⩽ 100 . Domains of high transport phenomena were identified and highlighted. Furthermore, the average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are obtained at the bottom wall for some values of the parameters considered in this investigation. The results demonstrate the range where high heat and mass transfer rates can be attained for a given Richardson number. This paper fills the gap by considering the combined heat and mass transfer by mixed convection for the classical problem of a lid-driven cavity flow.